


I Was Made to Keep Your Body Warm

by stellarmeadow



Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Because nothing bad ever happens when you go hiking, Established Relationship, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Sharing Body Heat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-26
Updated: 2021-02-26
Packaged: 2021-03-17 00:20:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,967
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29708763
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stellarmeadow/pseuds/stellarmeadow
Summary: Buck and Eddie go hiking. Because nothing bad ever happens when you go hiking. Unless you're trouble magnets....
Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV)
Comments: 18
Kudos: 215





	I Was Made to Keep Your Body Warm

**Author's Note:**

  * For [kristen999](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kristen999/gifts).



> This is all kristen999's fault. She infected me with this bunny and it wouldn't go away. She was kind enough to give it a stellar beta, though, so I guess that evens out? :)

Sunlight poked at Buck’s eyelids, forcing him to duck his head into the juncture of Eddie’s neck and shoulder. Buck inhaled deeply, letting the air out in a sigh. It was impossible to complain about the sun waking him up when he had Eddie naked and warm in the bed after a long day and night. 

They’d been together exactly one month yesterday, and it was still like a new surprise and coming home all at the same time, every time they were together. So little had changed when they’d finally given in to what took the team two weeks to notice. 

And yet so much had changed that Buck wasn’t sure how the whole world didn’t see it written all over them the second it happened.

Eddie started to move, leg sliding through Buck’s thighs in a way that made Buck just want to pull him back in. Buck settled for a kiss, though, then another, and another, until Eddie was awake enough to join in.

“Morning,” Buck said, sliding his leg over both of Eddie’s to smile down at him. 

Eddie returned the smile. “Good morning,” he said, going into a stretch that ended with a wince. “Are you sure you want to go on a hike? I think my muscles are protesting all that exercise yesterday.”

“We didn’t leave the room yesterday,” Buck said.

Eddie rolled them over, looming over Buck, arms on either side of Buck’s pillow to hold himself up just enough to see Buck’s face. “I know,” Eddie said, and really, that satisfied smirk shouldn’t look so good on anyone. “Three days away from home, all alone, why should we leave at all?” 

Buck rolled his eyes, but then Eddie rolled his hips against Buck’s, and he couldn’t entirely argue. “Okay one time,” Buck said, hands already sliding down Eddie’s back to cup his ass. “One time, but then we’re going hiking.” 

Eddie paused to raise an eyebrow at Buck—one of his favorite Eddie expressions, not that he was telling Eddie that. “You sure you can stick to that?” 

“And how are you going to answer with a straight face when the team asks us how the hiking was?”

“We reached new heights,” Eddie said, slotting himself so perfectly between Buck’s legs. “And the view,” he said, hand playing with Buck’s hair, “was spectacular.”

“And when Christopher wants to see pictures of the view?” Buck asked.

Eddie frowned. “Okay, one time, and then we go hiking.”

“And then,” Buck said, “we can come back to the room until time to go home.”

“Deal.”

***

Buck led the way through the brush on the last bit of the hike, which was only fair, since he’d been the one to insist on taking this trail. It was one of the rougher ones, but the views were supposed to be worth every step. They’d better be, considering the amount of overgrown trees, bushes, grass and whatever the hell that thing with the prickly ends that stuck to his pants was. He hacked away at it all, though, even as the wind picked up, blowing bits of it back in his face. 

“You know,” Eddie said, “I had a friend in high school who had this huge crush on Bear Grylls, and I never got it, but seeing you hack your way through the brush I think I do.” 

Buck laughed, looking back over his shoulder. “Is that a compliment?” he said. “I can’t tell.”

“It’s kind of hot,” Eddie clarified.

Buck paused, giving Eddie a once-over. “Yeah, well, the jungle trekker look sort of suits you, too.” And it did, God help him. Eddie’s shirt and pants were clinging to him with sweat, despite the relatively cool day, every muscle they caught on accentuated by the fabric. 

“Okay, keep going,” Eddie said, “before that look makes me do things that will make the poison ivy blush.”

Buck laughed again as he turned to finish the last few minutes of hacking their way to the summit of the mountain. The work was rewarded when they broke through to the top, though.

“Wow,” Eddie said, his tone almost reverent. 

“Yeah,” Buck breathed, turning around slowly to take in the view from every angle. It was like being on top of the world, with mountains rolling into other mountains, all full of lush greenery brought on by the frequent rains they’d had. Only an overcast sky marred the beauty, but even that wasn’t enough to ruin it. 

The wind whipped around them, bringing a chill to the air and a constant white noise that only added to the feeling that they were miles up in the air, away from everyone and everything.

Eddie leaned into Buck, linking their arms. “Totally worth the hike,” Eddie said. “Though the view the last couple of miles wasn’t so bad, either.”

Buck frowned down at him. “We were surrounded by bush. All you could see was my backside.” 

“Exactly.”

Buck rolled his eyes, even as he was closing them for a kiss. This thing between them was new enough that he cherished every chance to touch, let alone kiss, especially when he’d wanted it for so long. 

He dug out his phone from his pack and put his arm around Eddie, with the view at their backs. “Say cheese,” Buck said, as he took several pictures to make sure he got a good one. He took a few videos of the view, including one where Eddie kept trying to duck out of the frame and Buck kept following him that left them both laughing by the time it was done. 

“Okay,” Buck said finally, putting his phone back in its sealed bag in his pack, “we should probably head back soon.”

“Yeah,” Eddie agreed. “I don’t like the looks of that dark sky over there.” 

Buck nodded. “It’s gotten a lot darker in the last few minutes, too.” Which meant it was probably moving fast and they should do the same. He checked the seal on his dry pack before lugging it back up onto his shoulders. 

“You know, if you hadn’t brought the kitchen sink on a day hike that thing would be easier to carry,” Eddie teased.

“Do you know how many people have accidents on hikes each year?” Buck asked. “It’s important to be prepared.” 

Besides, it wasn’t like he couldn’t handle the weight.

A light rain started to fall, rolling right off Buck’s waterproof pack. “But hey,” he said, “soon enough your pack will have absorbed enough water that it’ll weigh the same as mine.” 

Eddie rolled his eyes. “Come on,” he said, “let’s get going.” 

***

Within minutes, the rain was pouring so hard Buck could barely see a foot in front of him. The path they’d cut out on the way up was just barely enough to allow them to follow it back down, but all the leaves on the ground made it extra slippery. 

The chill seemed to be following them down the mountain, lending some speed to their descent. A mistake, as it turned out, as one particularly bad slip that had him on his ass, Eddie barely managing to stop behind him. 

“You ok?” Eddie asked.

Buck went through a quick mental checklist. “I’m fine,” he said, as Eddie moved carefully around in front of him and held out a hand. Buck took it and started to stand, only to sit back down at the pain in his ankle. 

He moved his foot around, hissing at the sharp pain in one side. Localized, and not restricting his movement—yet. 

“I think I sprained my ankle.” 

Eddie knelt down in the mud, his hands gentle as he checked Buck’s ankle. “You can move it okay?”

“Yeah,” Buck said. “I think it needs to be wrapped before we go, though. It was hard enough to keep my footing before this.”

“Did you throw an ACE bandage in with that kitchen sink?” Eddie teased.

Buck opened his pack and pulled out the bandage. Eddie took it and began wrapping the ankle as Buck got his pack back together. 

“How’s that?” Eddie asked, fingers skirting over the wrapped ankle. “Too tight?” he asked, looking up at Buck with that smile that had always made Buck’s stomach flip a little. Eddie’s hair was soaked, rain was running down his face, and he still was the most beautiful thing Buck had ever seen. 

“No,” Buck said after a moment. “It’s good.” 

They managed to get his wrapped foot back into his boot before Eddie helped him up and they started back down the path again. 

***

Eddie took the lead after that, going slow, as much to check for sure footing as for Buck. Making it out of the brush and to the clearing made very little difference; the rain had picked up so much they could still barely see past the ends of their noses. 

Buck paused, taking a drink less because he was thirsty and more as a way to give his ankle a rest without worrying Eddie. Who, of course, saw right through it. “Bandage holding up okay?” Eddie asked. 

Buck nodded. “It would probably be better if it wasn’t soaked, but it’s still supportive.” He put his water bottle away and grinned at Eddie. “Almost like you know what you’re doing or something.”

“Yeah, well, I’d prefer not to have to use those skills on you.” 

“As long as you’re using other skills—”

There was a slight rumbling noise as the ground beneath their feet shuddered, then disappeared, sending them tumbling down the side of the mountain.

***

Buck winced as he rolled his way out of a pile of thick wet earth and rocks. He rubbed mud from his face, pulling a clob out of his hair. He did a mental check, running through potential injuries, but other than the sprained ankle, which wasn’t exactly happy with the additional damage from the fall, he seemed to be relatively okay. “Eddie?” 

No response.

“Eddie!” 

He heard a groan nearby and scrambled over a few feet of debris to get to Eddie, whose leg was sticking out from underneath of another pile. “Hey,” Buck said, shoving mud and rocks out of the way until he could see Eddie’s face. “Hey, you okay?” Buck asked, his hand helping the rain clean the mud off Eddie’s face. 

“I’ve been better,” Eddie said, the words holding just a hint of a slur. 

Fuck. Slurring was bad. “Where does it hurt?” 

Eddie winced as he laughed. “Everywhere?”

“Okay, where does it hurt the worst?”

“Well, not to make our situation any worse, but I’m pretty sure my right leg is broken.”

Which Buck had already guessed from the way it had been laying. “That’s the worst of it?” Buck asked. 

“That depends—is there a guy playing drums on my head?”

Okay, so, possible concussion on top of a broken leg. Not ideal. And they were—Buck looked up to see the trail high above him—at least fifty feet down the side of the steep, steep mountain. Also not ideal. 

“Are you okay to stay here for a minute while I check things out?” Buck asked. Eddie nodded—wincing again—so Buck used the side of the mountain to help himself up, limping carefully as he checked out the area. 

They were on small cliff that had stopped them from going any further down, which was a plus. It was solid rock, not mud that was likely to give way, also a plus. 

But the rain made it slippery, which made moving around on it dangerous—especially for someone with a sprained ankle or broken leg. And it was too far down to have any hope of climbing back up, not without climbing gear. Also too far down to hear if anyone came by—even if the rain did let up—to yell for rescue. 

His pack had been in his hand when he’d fallen, if he was lucky, maybe it had landed near him. He got to his knees, giving his ankle a break, and dug through the mire where he’d landed, but there was no sign of it. 

Which meant no phone, and no personal locator beacon to send for help. 

Maybe Eddie’s pack had survived, though. “Hey,” Buck said, as he made it to Eddie’s side again, “do you have your pack on?”

“No—maybe it’s around here somewhere?” 

Buck searched through the scattered piles around Eddie, focused on solving the problem and not thinking about what might happen if he couldn’t. He almost reached the edge of the cliff when he felt a strap and pulled on it, surprised to find it attached to his own pack, not Eddie’s. 

“Did you find it?” 

“No, but I found mine!” Which meant a phone and PLB and a lot of other things that would be nice and dry—at least until they brought them out in the rain.

Buck looked around, noticing a recessed spot against the mountain. He got up carefully, holding tightly onto his pack as he limped over to take a closer look. The spot was deep enough that he could step inside enough to open the pack, but he couldn’t tell if it was deep enough to offer them shelter until he pulled out a small flashlight and looked further. 

Calling it a cave was generous, but it was deep enough that they could just lie down without being in the rain. He left his pack there, flashlight pointing inside, and went to get Eddie. 

“Hey, I found some shelter,” Buck said, kneeling down so that he didn’t have to yell for Eddie to hear him over the rain. “I don’t want to risk you standing up and stumbling on that leg, though, because the edge of this cliff is way too close. So I’m going to have to pull you over there, okay?”

Eddie set his jaw and nodded carefully. 

Buck slid his hands under both of Eddie’s armpits and pulled, making his way slowly back to the cave. It was slow going, especially with a sprained ankle when he had to worry about one slip possibly sending them over the edge, but eventually they were in the cave and out of the rain. 

Eddie was breathing as hard as Buck was by the time they were inside. Judging by the thin, pale set of his lips, and the way he held his leg extra still, Buck was going to guess the broken leg was the reason. 

“Okay,” Buck said, pulling his cell phone out of his pack to see no bars, “I’m gonna go see if I can get any reception on my phone. Stay put.” 

“I don’t think I’m going anywhere ,” Eddie said. 

The strain in Eddie’s voice left a lump in Buck’s throat. He took one long look at Eddie, then forced himself to go back out into the rain in search of cell service. 

A pointless search, as it turned out, as no matter how he held the phone at any point along their small cliff, he couldn’t get service. 

“No bars,” Buck said, as he walked back into the cave. 

“Damn,” Eddie said, “and here I was really hoping for a drink.”

Buck shot Eddie a grin. Despite that undercurrent of pain in his voice and the slightly unfocused eyes, he was joking around. That had to be good, right? 

“Lucky for you,” Buck said, sitting down beside Eddie, pack in hand, “I’m that guy who brings a kitchen sink on the hike. Including,” Buck pulled out his PLB, “one handy personal locator beacon.” 

“I promise never to mock you for being overprepared again.”

Buck rolled his eyes. “Somehow I see you having trouble holding to that promise,” he said, as he leaned over to the opening of the cave. He flicked on the beacon, finding a small source of comfort in the blinking light as he sat it just outside the cave, to give it a better chance at reaching satellites. 

Once the beacon was anchored, he went back to his pack at Eddie’s side. “While we wait for rescue,” Buck said, because he refused to believe that any other outcome was possible, “let’s see what we can do to make you more comfortable.”

He started to roll Eddie’s pant leg up, but Eddie hissed and recoiled just enough that Buck stopped. “Scissors it is,” Buck said, pulling out his pocketknife. He cut the cargo pants up to Eddie’s knee, wincing at the jagged gash right where it looked like the leg was broken. “Sorry,” Buck said, as he pulled out the alcohol wipe, “this is gonna hurt.”

“You mean more than falling down the side of a mountain?”

Buck winced. “Good point.” He cleaned the wound the best he could, but it was deep enough that he didn’t want to pull it together and increase the chance of trapping anything in there. Eddie hissed a few times, but that was the extent of his reactions until the wound was bandaged. 

“Now comes the less fun part,” Buck said. He held up an emergency splint. “You ready for this?”

Eddie took a deep breath. “Yeah.” 

Buck was as gentle as possible, but Eddie’s breathing was labored again by the time his leg was splinted. He let out a long breath when it was done, though, shoulders relaxing minutely. 

“That helps,” Eddie said, after a moment, letting his head drop back onto the ground and closing his eyes.

“Good.” Buck rummaged around in his bag and pulled out a flannel shirt he hadn’t really needed when they’d gotten to the top of the mountain, since they hadn’t stayed long. “Here,” he said, lifting Eddie’s head up gently and placing the balled-up shirt under it. “Sorry, best I can do for a pillow.”

“See if I give your cave anything higher than one star on Yelp.”

Buck smiled down at him, hand stroking through Eddie’s hair until Eddie hissed as Buck’s hand drifted over one spot. “Can you sit up?” Buck asked. 

Eddie shifted until he was mostly sitting as Buck reached for the flashlight. He checked Eddie’s head around that spot carefully, finding a cut that was maybe an inch long. “You’ve got a scratch,” Buck said. “Doesn’t look deep, but I should clean it. Sorry.” 

“Just get it over with,” Eddie said, sounding resigned. 

Buck opened another alcohol wipe and cleaned the wound, arm around Eddie’s shoulder, hoping that it at least provided a little comfort. When he’d done as much as he could, he pressed gauze against it and wrapped more around Eddie’s head to keep it in place. 

“Not bad,” Eddie said, when he was done. “You should be a firefighter or something.”

Buck laughed. “Here,” he said, twisting around so his legs were near Eddie’s head. “This will at least be more comfortable than just the shirt.” He used his thighs as a pillow, placing Eddie’s head down gently on them. 

“Man, for once in my life I wish you spent less time in the gym.” 

That current of pain was still there in Eddie’s voice, but it wasn’t any worse, and he was still joking, so Buck was going to cling to that. 

He’d wanted this thing between them for so long it was difficult to remember a time when he didn’t want it. A time before Eddie seemed unthinkable now, like it was a dream world he’d mostly forgotten and didn’t want to remember anyway. 

Wouldn’t have to remember. Because everything was going to be fine. It wouldn’t take all that long for search and rescue to find them once the message reached their hotel. And they weren’t that far away. Help would be there soon.

Eddie’s breath started to even out, and as much as Buck wanted to let him sleep, the uncertainty around head trauma wouldn’t let him. 

“Hey, tell me again why Chris had a turtle named Cat?” 

Eddie groaned. “Can’t it wait until I’ve had a nap?”

“No, no, no, you know the drill. No sleep until you’ve been thoroughly checked out by a doctor. Tell me the story.”

Eddie started talking, cheek pressed into Buck’s thigh, as Buck kept stroking the less-injured parts of Eddie’s body. He wasn’t sure if it was Eddie or himself he was trying to comfort, but neither one of them was complaining, so he kept it up.

When the story was finished, Buck prompted him for another and another, until Eddie started to shiver. “Cold?” Buck asked. 

Eddie shook his head, but the shivering continued. Buck pulled two emergency blankets out of his pack and opened the bags, tucking them both around Eddie’s body, making sure no air could escape before making his leg Eddie’s pillow once more. 

“H-h-hardly a down comforter,” Eddie said, rubbing his cheek against Buck’s leg. 

“Yeah, well, that would have been a lot harder to fit in my pack.” Buck put his hand on Eddie’s cheek, the cool skin there worrisome. “Here,” Buck said, wrapping the flannel shirt around Eddie’s head and tying it under his chin like a scarf. 

“I look like R-r-red Riding H-h-hood,” Eddie complained. 

Buck rolled his eyes, placing his hand on the little skin still exposed on Eddie’s cheek and keeping it there. “Don’t worry, I’ll keep the bad wolf at bay.” 

He felt Eddie smile. “Okay, then I’ll just sleep.”

“No sleeping,” Buck said, struggling to keep his voice calm and even. “Come on, tell me another story.”

“What do you want to know?” 

“Tell me what you thought about me when we met.”

Eddie’s huff of almost-laughter seemed to increase his shivering. “That you were an asshole.”

“Oh, come on.”

“Okay, you were a giant asshole.”

Buck laughed. “Okay, if you’re not gonna be serious, I’ll tell you what I thought of you.”

“That I was a giant asshole.”

“No,” Buck countered. “Well, yeah, I guess that’s what I thought I thought, at first. But I think that was my brain’s way of protecting me.” 

Eddie rubbed his cheek on Buck’s leg. “Like you needed protecting from me?”

“No, from myself. You walked in and challenged every bit of impulse control I had.”

“You have never h-h-had impulse control.”

“Oh yes I have,” Buck replied. “Or else I’d have ended up with a giant sexual harassment suit your first day on the job.”

“Sexual h-h-harassment has to be unw-w-wanted,” Eddie said.

Buck smiled down at Eddie’s orange and red flannel clad form, but the continuous shivers quickly turned that smile into a frown. “So, I wasn’t just a giant asshole, then?” Buck prompted, shaking his leg just enough to make sure Eddie was awake.

“Oh, you w-w-were,” Eddie said. “B-b-but you were also hot. And taking every opp-p-portunity to show off for me, which d-d-didn’t help.”

The shivering had stepped up a notch, to the point where Eddie’s teeth were chattering. “Not to change the subject,” Buck said, “but let’s see if we can get some food in you.”

He started to move them, but Eddie protested. “Not hungry,” he said. “Just want to lie here.”

“Come on, just a little food.” 

Eddie grumbled, but he let Buck coax him up to sit against the wall of the cave, tucking the blankets back in around him before reaching for the pack. Buck pulled out a protein bar and opened it, holding it up to Eddie’s lips. “Come on, take a bite.” 

“Not hungry.” 

“I know, but you need something to keep your energy up. Come on.” 

Eddie relented, taking a bite and making a face as he chewed it slowly. He’d barely swallowed before he leaned to the side, retched, and threw it back up. “Sitting up m-m-made me really dizzy,” he said, leaning into Buck. “Not gonna stay down.” 

Nothing like a nice concussion to ruin every attempt to ward off shock. “Let’s at least try some water, okay?” Buck held the thermos up to Eddie’s lips. He took a few sips, but a moment later that, too, came back up. 

Buck tamped down on the panic starting to claw its way up from his gut. He was of no use to Eddie if he gave in to emotion. “Hey, you think you can hold yourself up for a minute while I check for cell service again?”

“Yeah.” 

Buck got up carefully, making sure Eddie wasn’t going to fall over before Buck stepped outside cautiously, mindful of his ankle. The rain was lightening up, but it wasn’t helping the cell reception any, as all he got along any stretch of their small cliff was the no service notice. 

The beacon was still blinking, though, giving Buck some hope that help was on the way—hopefully sooner rather than later. If help didn’t arrive before nightfall, that would present a whole other set of problems that he didn’t want to think about, let alone have to deal with. 

Buck swallowed down the growing worry in his gut. The longer Eddie went without proper fluids, the more likely he would slip into shock. Then they were in real trouble. 

Heart racing, Buck forced down the panic. That wasn’t what Eddie needed right now.

He limped back inside to find Eddie’s eyes closed. “You’re not sleeping are you?” Buck asked, as he sat down again. 

Eddie shook his head, then winced. “Dizzy,” he said. 

“Here, let’s lay you back down.” Buck helped him change position slowly, trying not to aggravate the concussion too much, until Eddie’s head was back in Buck’s lap. “Better?”

“Mmm.” 

“No sleeping, though,” Buck said. “Come on, tell me about the day Chris was born.”

Eddie started the story, one Buck has heard several times and will never get tired of. Eddie started to shiver less as he finished the story, an encouraging sign at first, until he started to slur his words. 

Buck moved the blanket just enough to feel Eddie’s neck. It felt cool, especially for someone who’d been wrapped up for a while, but it was hard to tell for sure with his cold hands.

“Next time I’m putting a thermometer in my first aid kit,” he muttered.

“Is okay,” Eddie said, slowly blinking as he looked up at Buck with a smile. “’M fine. But too hot. Need these off.” He started pushing the blanket off, but Buck hastily stopped him. . 

“No no no,” Buck said, “you need to stay warm.”

“’M warm,” Eddie said again. 

Buck went over the signs of hypothermia in his head again—admittedly something he didn’t see much working in Los Angeles. Slurring was bad. Wanting to take off your clothes…also bad. 

Unless it was the best way to share heat.

“Okay,” Buck said, moving to help get Eddie’s clothes off as quickly as he could. “Let’s get these off you okay?” Eddie tried to help, but he was too uncoordinated to be anything more than a hinderance. They managed quickly enough, though, before Buck shucked his clothes off in a quick pile and joined Eddie in the makeshift sleeping blanket. 

“More like it,” Eddie said, wrapping his arms around Buck, the hold so reminiscent of this morning that Buck almost apologized for insisting they get out of bed. If he’d only given in….

But he hadn’t, and here they were. Stuck in a cave hoping some cheap REI flashing light would bring help. 

“Fuck, you’re freezing,” Buck said into Eddie’s hair, holding on tightly, as if that would transfer his body heat faster. 

Eddie tucked his nose against Buck’s neck. “You’re warm.”

“Yeah, let’s see if we can get you warm, too.” Sharing body heat was the best way to increase Eddie’s body temperature, slow and steady. Anything faster could cause create a whole other set of complications. Eddie didn’t need any more problems.

“Mmm.” 

Buck could feel Eddie getting heavier with sleep, so he shook them both. “No sleeping, Eddie, come on.” 

“Tired.”

“I know, but you gotta wake up. Tell me your favorite memory of Christopher.” 

Eddie shook his head. “Don’ wanna talk,” he mumbled. “Wan’ sleep.”

“No sleeping, Edmundo.”

“Don’ call me that.”

“Then stay awake and I won’t. Come on, tell me about Christopher.” 

Eddie started on a story that was slurred and incoherent, but Buck didn’t mind, as long as he kept talking. When he finished, Buck asked for another, and then another.

On the fifth story, Buck thought he heard something outside. “Hey,” he said, pulling back to give Eddie a kiss on the forehead. “I need to go check outside. Can you stay awake for me?” 

Eddie looked cranky, but he nodded. It wasn’t much of a nod, but it was better than a protest, so Buck left the blankets and stepped into his pants as he was walking out of the cave.

The sound was louder out on the cliff, and the whir of helicopter blades that had never sounded quite so good. A moment later, the helicopter flew over, Buck waving like a madman to get their attention. 

He saw someone hanging out of the side with binoculars point at him, and then the helicopter circled back. Buck hurried back into the cave. “Hey,” he said, kneeling down beside Eddie, “you still with me?” 

Eddie didn’t answer. Buck rubbed his hand along Eddie’s back. “Eddie.” 

“’M here,” he muttered.

“You said you’d stay awake, come on. Help is almost here.”

Eddie nodded slightly, more or less refusing to move, though, as Buck tried to get him up. “Okay,” Buck relented, hand smoothing Eddie’s hair gently, “just stay awake while I go get help.”

He nodded again, that same careful, slight move to avoid pain that had Buck scared out of his fucking mind. But he pushed that aside and got up, pulling on his shirt as he went back outside.

“Hey!” he heard from above. “Monterey County Search and Rescue!”

“We’re down here!” Buck shouted back. A moment later, someone peered over the edge of the mountain. “Oh thank God,” Buck said, before he raised his voice again. “I’m LAFD! I’ve got a patient—male, 33, shocky, moderate hypothermia, but he’s closing in on severe really fast and we need to get him to a hospital!”

“You okay to secure him if we send down a litter?” 

Hell yeah, if it meant speeding this up. “Yeah!”

He went to get Eddie while they sent it down, not bothering with his clothes, just hauling him wrapped in the blankets, ignoring the pain in his ankle as he put full weight on it, while being careful of the edge of the cliff. Buck worked quickly, strapping Eddie into the litter. “I’ll meet you up there in a few minutes, just promise me you’ll stay awake?”

Eddie’s nod was more like just moving his head around a little, but Buck would take it. He placed a kiss on Eddie’s forehead before sending the litter back up the side of the mountain. 

Every inch seemed to take an hour, but eventually Eddie was out of sight. They sent down a harness for Buck to help him back up the mountain quickly, and rushed him over to the helicopter where Eddie was already waiting, covered in warming blankets with only his eyes uncovered.

Buck put his hand on the top of Eddie’s head anyway, even if he couldn’t feel it, and watched Eddie’s closed eyes all the way to the hospital.

***

Hospitals sucked. 

Well, no, hospitals were amazing, life-saving places where a lot of wonderful people worked really long hours to help others. 

But being in the hospital sucked.

And having someone you cared about in the hospital sucked almost as bad.

Buck shifted in the chair, hoping to find a position that was comfortable but also allowed him to keep his foot up. The ER staff had rebandaged it with a dry bandage after checking him over, and it felt okay, but that was probably largely due to the nice drugs they’d let him have. 

The hospital room was uncomfortably warm, meant to help Eddie warm up, along with the warmed-up IVs and the special oxygen flowing through his mask. 

The doctor had explained it all, along with telling Buck that the concussion wasn’t serious. Eddie’s leg had been set and put into a cast, and he would be fine eventually. The fact that he wasn’t awake yet was nothing to be concerned about, the doctor said, along with telling Buck he should get some rest.

He wasn’t going to sleep, though. Not until Eddie woke up.

So he sat there, scrolling through his phone, messaging Chris that things were okay, and that they would video call as soon as they could, and reassuring the rest of their family and friends that things were going to be fine, believing it a little more each time he typed the message out. 

Though he’d believe it a lot faster if Eddie would just open his damn eyes.

Buck looked at the pictures from that morning at the top of the mountain, zooming in on Eddie’s face. He looked happy in a way that, once upon a time, only Chris could manage to make him. The only thing better than seeing Eddie be happy as a person, not just a dad, was that Buck had had a hand in making it happen. 

Eddie stirred, and Buck pocketed his phone, leaning over to see Eddie’s eyes fluttering a few times before they blinked open, then settled into a squint. “Buck?”

“Right here,” Buck said, pushing the call button before taking Eddie’s hand. 

“Christopher—” 

“Is waiting for us to video call as soon as we can,” Buck said. “How do you feel?” 

“Like I fell off a mountain.”

Buck’s laugh was shaky. “Yeah, well, don’t do that again, okay?”

“I’m not the one who wanted to go hiking.” 

Buck sobered, holding Eddie’s gaze. “I’m sorry,” Buck said quietly. “If I hadn’t insisted—”

“Like I couldn’t have talked you out of it if I’d really wanted to?” Eddie said. “I wanted to see it, too. And it’s not like you made the mountain disappear or something.” 

“I know, but still.”

“Stop,” Eddie said, squeezing Buck’s hand. “We’re alive, and we’ll be fine soon enough. And,” Eddie said, pulling on Buck’s hand to try to get him to come closer, “we’re together. That’s all that matters, okay?”

Buck gave him a faint smile. “Okay.” 

The nurse came in, the doctor right behind, and Buck slid his chair back to let them work, eyes on Eddie’s face the whole time. 

“You’re lucky,” the doctor said when he was done. “If you’d gotten here much later this could have gone a lot differently.” 

Eddie smiled at Buck. “Yeah, well, I had L.A.’s finest taking care of me,” Eddie said.

“We’re going to keep you overnight,” the doctor said, “but you’re through the worst of it—broken leg aside.”

He left with an order for Buck to push the call button if anything happened. 

“Ready to talk to Chris?” Buck asked.

“Always.” 

Buck sat carefully on the edge of the bed so he could get Eddie in the screen with him and pushed the button. 

“Dad!” Christopher said. “Are you okay?”

“I’m okay,” Eddie said. “Nothing was going to happen to me. I had the best firefighter in the world looking after me.”

“Second best,” Christopher said. “You’re the best.”

Eddie shot Buck a look, grinning. “Well thank you for that,” Eddie said.

“Thanks for taking care of Dad, Buck,” Christopher said, face and tone serious.

“I will always take care of your dad,” Buck said, just as seriously. 

Eddie looked up at him, a softer smile on his face this time, and Buck laid down on the bed beside him and held up the phone to continue the call  
.  
-

END

**Author's Note:**

> Comments feed the muse ❤️


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